The Templar Legacy

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was, and its true nature could change the modern world.

The Alexandria Link: A Novel

Cotton Malone retired from the high-risk world of elite operatives to lead the life of a rare-book dealer. But his quiet existence is shattered when he receives an anonymous e-mail: "You have something I want. You're the only person on earth who knows where to find it. If I don't hear from you, you will be childless." His ex-wife confirms that their teenage son has been kidnapped, and it becomes clear that those responsible will stop at nothing to get what they want: the lost library of Alexandria.

The Venetian Betrayal: A Novel

Locating Alexander the Great's final resting place, unknown to this day, remains a tantalizing goal for archaeologists and treasure hunters - as well as a cunning despot with the single-minded desire to surpass Alexander as history's ultimate conqueror. Cotton Malone, former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer, learns from his friend, Cassiopeia Vitt, that a suspicious blaze was part of a campaign of arson masking a diabolical plan to find Alexander's grave - and a miraculous serum.

The Charlemagne Pursuit: A Novel

As a child, former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone was told his father died in a submarine disaster in the North Atlantic. But now he wants the full story. He asks his ex-boss, Stephanie Nelle, to secure the military files. What he learns stuns him: His father's sub was a secret nuclear vessel lost on a highly classified mission beneath the ice shelves of Antarctica. But Malone isn't the only one after the truth.

The Paris Vendetta: A Cotton Malone Novel

When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he?

The Emperor's Tomb

The tomb of China’s First Emperor, guarded by an underground army of terra-cotta warriors, has remained sealed for more than 2,000 years. Though it’s regarded as one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, the Chinese government won’t allow anyone to open it. Why? That question is at the heart of a dilemma faced by former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone, whose life is shattered when he receives an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar Web address.

The Jefferson Key: A Novel

Four United States presidents have been assassinated - in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963 - each murder seemingly unrelated and separated by time. But what if those presidents were all killed for the same reason: a clause in the United States Constitution - contained within Article 1, Section 8 - that would shock Americans? This question is what faces former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone in his latest adventure. When a bold assassination attempt is made against President Danny Daniels in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the killing....

The King's Deception: A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 8

Cotton Malone and his 15-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown - an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.

The Lincoln Myth: A Novel

New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry returns with his latest thriller, a Cotton Malone adventure involving a flaw in the United States Constitution, a mystery about Abraham Lincoln, and a political issue that’s as explosive as it is timely - not only in Malone’s world, but in ours. September 1861: All is not as it seems. With these cryptic words, a shocking secret passed down from president to president comes to rest in the hands of Abraham Lincoln.

The Patriot Threat: Cotton Malone

In an innovative new approach, Macmillan Audio and Steve Berry have produced an expanded, annotated writer’s cut audiobook edition of The Patriot Threat. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution legalized federal income tax, but what if there were problems with the 1913 ratification of that amendment? Secrets that call in to question decades of tax collecting. There is a surprising truth to this possibility—a truth wholly entertained by Steve Berry, a top-ten New York Times best-selling writer, in his new thriller, The Patriot Threat.

The Amber Room

Life is good for Atlanta judge Rachel Cutler. She loves her job, loves her kids, and remains civil to her ex-husband, Paul. But everything changes when her father, a man who survived the horrors of World War II, dies under strange circumstances and leaves behind clues to a secret he kept his entire life...a secret about something called the Amber Room.

The Romanov Prophecy

In 1917, Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, was executed by revolutionaries. Now, in response to the collapse of the country's economy, the people have voted to instate a new Tsar, one who will be chosen from the descendents of Nicholas II. But a powerful group of Western businessmen want to make sure he is a candidate they can control, and hire African-American lawyer Miles Lord, with his knowledge of Russian language and history, to check the background of their chosen man.

Independence Day: A Dewey Andreas Novel

Dewey Andreas, former Delta and current intelligence agent, is sidelined. Still drowning in grief after the tragic murder of his fiancee, Dewey has seemingly lost his focus, his edge, and the confidence of his superiors. A high-level Russian hacker, known only as Cloud, is believed to be behind a series of major terror operations, and the mission is to capture and render Cloud harmless. At the same time, a backup team is sent after the only known associate of Cloud, a ballerina believed to be his girlfriend.

Code of Conduct: A Thriller

Hidden deep within one of the world’s most powerful organizations is a secret committee with a devastating agenda. Its members are afforded incredible protections—considered elites, untouchables. But when four seconds of video is captured halfway around the world and anonymously transmitted to DC, covert wheels are set in motion, and counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath is tapped to undertake the deadliest assignment of his career.

The President's Shadow: The Culper Ring Series

To most it looks like Beecher White has an ordinary job. A young staffer with the National Archives in Washington, DC, he's responsible for safekeeping the government's most important documents...and, sometimes, its most closely held secrets. But there are a powerful few who know his other role. Beecher is a member of the Culper Ring, a 200-year-old secret society founded by George Washington and charged with protecting the presidency.

The Insider Threat: A Pike Logan Thriller

ISIS, the most maniacal terrorist organization the modern world has ever seen, is poised to make their most audacious strike yet. The United States has anticipated and averted countless attacks from terrorist groups - thanks in large part to the extralegal counterterrorist unit known as the Taskforce. But in The Insider Threat, a much more insidious evil is about to shatter the false sense of safety surrounding civilized nations.

Memory Man

Amos Decker's life changed forever - twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good and left him with an improbable side effect - he can never forget anything.

The Inner Circle

When Clementine Kaye, archivist Beecher White's first childhood crush, shows up at the National Archives asking for his help, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the president of the United States privately reviews classified documents. They accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact - and find themselves suddenly entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder.

Radiant Angel

After a showdown with the notorious Yemeni terrorist known as The Panther, John Corey has left the Anti-Terrorist Task Force and returned home to New York City, taking a job with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Although Corey's new assignment with the DSG - surveilling Russian diplomats working at the UN Mission - is thought to be "a quiet end", he is more than happy to be out from under the thumb of the FBI and free from the bureaucracy of office life.

Publisher's Summary

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was, and its true nature could change the modern world.

Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he'd left behind.

It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton's former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who's far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the 14th century. But she's not alone. Competing for the historic prize, and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses, is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.

Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees.

The Templar Legacy is an interesting mix of history, speculation, religion, and thriller. The reader has to be ready to suspend some disbelief: the secret-agent-type heroes are incredibly slow at times (evidently they had never heard of a transponder) and the evil bad-guy is uncannily lucky and able to pull correct hunches out of the blue. The end of the book leans a little toward the preachy side, but I suppose it's impossible for an author to leave his personal opinions out of a book. If you can get by those things, you will enjoy a lively, "page/turning" story with many thought-provoking perspectives on history and present-day.

I read one of Steve Berry's books years ago and really liked it (The Romanov Prophecy), but had never taken the time to keep up with him. I saw n unreada paperback copy of this book on my shelf and happened to be looking for a new audiobook and hopefully a new author. To say that I found everything I was looking for would be an understatement of monumental proportions.

The hero of this book (and several others that follow) is Cotton Malone. He's a retired lawyer, secret agent-type who lives in Europe and tries to sell collectible books. I say tries because trouble tends to find Cotton and take him all over the globe into fantastic adventures. The series as a whole is wonderful. This book shines particularly brightly.

The characters find themselves on the trail of the Templar treasure. I'm thinking to myself: "of course they are looking for Templar history because ALL novelists try to find Templar treasure." I never give away plots in my reviews or add spoilers, but Berry succeeds in re-telling the Templars in a way that is exciting, historically accurate and that encourages the reader to move on with their own studies. Like, James Rollins and Brad Thor, Steve Berry devotes a segment at the end of his novels to what is and isn't true -- completely freaky in the case of this particular story! I love books where you read, you learn and you want to learn more but in a fiction context.

Since I listened to this novel, I have downloaded and listened to each and every book Steve Berry has ever written. I took a brief pause from a non-Cotton Malone book when James Rollins's new book came out and then dug right back in. I have ignored some of my favorite authors while I listen to Berry. I have recommended Berry to all of my friends. I have lent the paperback copy that was on my shelf to two other swim moms who have read, returned and recommended. I simply cannot express how MUCH I love one of my new favorite authors.

Another religious conspiriacy thiller, this is sure to offend doctrinaire Christians. None of that offends me, but the dreadful writing does! I wasn't looking for a great book, just a fun conspiracy-theory thriller. The book's theme was heavy handed and unlike the Da Vinci Code, the plot was not related to it.

Here are problems: the book was really poorly edited, and thematic material is repeated over and over and over and over again. As such the book is about one third too long. Between the "living" and "historical" characters there are just too many.

The characters are not even two-dimensional: they bounce all over the place and react to situations and each other randomly, often in ways that do not further the story, as well as being EXTREMELY psychologically implausible.

The kind-of, sort-of protagonist has no reason for being in the story. He is not needed for the plot. Also this super spy of southern provenance, intellectual, ex-fighter pilot, scripture-quoting lawyer, antique book dealer and always good guy is just silly. Actually half of the major characters have no plausible motivation for being involved, so the author repeats their implausible reasons for being in the story over and over and over again.

Finally, there are just lots and lots and lots of plot holes and totally implausible situations and events (even in the fantasy world of this kind of novel) that continually jar one out of the book. I found myself kind of embarassed for the author.

I did finish it though, but the fact that I paid two credits for this is really irksome. The narration was adequate.

Greatly enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and taught me all sorts of things I never knew about the bible and biblical times. Tho mixed in with fiction, just a fascinating, fun read! Steve Berry is now on my list of favorite authors.

I have read several of Steve Berry's books and enjoyed them. This one is just ridiculous. I live in Spain and travel to Southern France on a regular basis. Extremely poor research despite the so called references cited in the epilogue. The situations and character development were infantile. Is there a character in modern fiction with an once of common sense? Don't waste a credit or your time. Sorry this one just didn't impress.

I bought this title because I liked Berry's Third Secret. Nowhere near as good! Unbelievable plot turns (it would take a top secret agent that long to think about and discover a transponder?? come now, Steve!) Corny accents (French is French, not strange sounding English). Character and plot inconsistencies making me realize that Berry did NOT do his history homework before writing this (the Gnostics were the absolute opposites of the smug sexists he makes the Templars out to be, and yet they were supposedly inspired by the Gnostics??)
And the narration---does no one at Audible make sure pronounciations are correct? Every time I hear the narrator mispronounce Cassiopeia, I cringe---she's too important a character to have her (well known) name tortured so.
After my enjoyment of the Third Secret (which also stretched credulity, but in a kinder, gentler way..), this was a real disappointment.

I was looking to see when the next installment in the Robert Lagdon series was due and discovered Steve Berry and his Cotton Mallone series. Cotton is a Robert Langdon meets Jason Bourne type of character so you can expect a lot more action than you find in Dan Browns novels but with the same mix of puzzles based on a mix of fact and fiction to keep the consparacy theorists entertained. The book contains a great cast of supporting characters some of whom you can expect to meet again later in the series and they are excellently portrayed by Paul Michael who has also narrated on the Dan Brown novels. Really enjoyed this book and have gone straight on to book 2!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Bendik

Trondheim, Norway

4/9/13

Overall

"Worth the time"

I bought this audiobook after searching for authors similar to Dan Brown, and i really have to say i enjoy his style of writing. It differs from Dan Brown in the way that his stories are more down to earth. This makes everything more easy to relate to. I definitely gonna buy his next book in the Cotton Malone series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nic Castle

UK

12/23/12

Overall

"great Read"

This is a great book. Steve Berry is a great author and I have found all his books excellent and this is no exception.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

steven

6/2/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"An excellent story well told"

A very well researched and executed novel, bringing new life to the Templar legacy. The story is written in such a way as to make all quite plausible, without any of the Hollywood nonsense. I particularly enjoyed the way the life of Christ and the resurrection are portrayed. The writers note at the end was a good addition, as it specified the facts, the inspiration, and the artistic license.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Salter

Herefordshire, UK

3/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Simply fantastic!"

Fantastic story. If you like Dan Brown then this is for you. Paul Michael delivers another perfect performance too.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Yury

4/7/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"decent story, disappointing performance"

Is there anything you would change about this book?

change the narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Michael’s performances?

I have always been disappointed by Paul Michael's narration - even since Dan Brown's books. I just don't understand why the production companies choose him to read those books.All his characters always speak in the same phlegmatic tone - both on the death bed and in the heat of a fight. His attempts at French accent are awful. And the whole narrative is monotonous and unengaging .

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Yes, I think that could be interesting

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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